It has taken me longer than I thought it would to get adjusted to life back home. Perhaps the 40+hrs of travel had something to do with it. Holy hell that was a long trip! The first few days home I could be found waking up at 2am, ready to eat lunch. My body was totally confused.
But it was worth it. Of course the trip was for the race, but it was still a great experience. Here are a few shots from our collective cameras of the rest of our time in Western Australia.
Hoping Ben remembers to STAY LEFT!
Jun, Jim, and I jumped into Ben’s smurf-like rental car (it was blue, too), and headed towards the beautiful area around Margaret River, a popular wine-making region with gorgeous beaches and just gorgeous everything.
Sorry I got in the way of your scenery pic, J!
We tasted some vino and tried to be classy. “Try” being the operative word. My remnants of bloody road rash and the guys’ “post-race-pimp-limp” didn’t help our attempts at looking refined. But we tried.
Wine Snob Ben: you're so busted! You're supposed to hold it by the STEM!
Then we were driving down the road and someone yelled, “Hey- stop! Roos in the field!“ I swear, you’d think we saw unicorns.
We climbed out and ran into the field to see this awesome sight:
That's what I call vertical oscillation. Coach Matt would have a field day with this one.
Yes, he chased them. Who has the higher VO2?
We found some kickin’ Thai carry-out and found nice seating for four on this gorgeous, empty beach.
I love Jun!
Jim and Ben decided to swim out to this rock. Being the martyr, I stayed back to take pictures.
So what’s next?
I had qualified to race Clearwater (70.3 World Champs) this year and was still holding out hope to be able to race it. I got in the pool last weekend, and promptly got out after about 10min of dizzy dizzy swimming. I guess my noggin’ just wasn’t ready. It’s ok– base training is here for me and I’m totally ok with it. It’s been an awesome year.
Some new friends sent me this picture from race day. I love this photo (not because I look so glam — don’t hate me because I’m beautiful), because it pretty much says how I felt on race day — and every time I’m racing on my bike. I was having an ABSOLUTE BLAST on the bike! That’s what this is all about. Let’s face it– the longer we do this stuff, the more likely that *crap* is gonna happen. I have several friends who have had some tough challenges in recent races, whether it’s a bad ref call, a DNF, a mechanical, a health-related issue, or just not the desired result. I guess the challenges just help us appreciate the HIGHS. I am so glad I have this photo to remind me of why I love doing this crazy sport and how much fun racing is. It makes all the hard work worth it.
Can’t wait for 2010!
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Oh my… the security word is “VAN”, as in “you need to visit Vancouver and hang with D ASAP!”. No? COME ON!!!!
I wish I could look even a fraction as happy on the bike as you do.
Oh, you made it out to Margaret River! It is so beautiful out there. Is that Voyager Estate Winery you guys are at?